Acts 3:19-21 19Therefore, repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, 20in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send the one who was appointed for you, Christ Jesus, 21whom it is necessary for heaven to receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets.
After giving the Scriptural basis for Jesus’ death and the eyewitness verification of his resurrection, Peter moves into invitation. The good news has been proclaimed, and now the people were confronted with the decision. The same pattern can be followed today when it comes to evangelism. Help people understand the truth of Jesus and why he came, and then offer them the opportunity to accept this good news.
Peter’s invitation uses two words that describe the same action: repent and return. Repent (metanoēsate) refers to changing one’s mind, especially in regard to sin. It is usually accompanied by a sense of guilt for what one has done. The emotion of guilt personalizes a person’s deep need to be forgiven and receive God’s gracious salvation. One’ mindset or thinking must change from self to God, from sin to righteousness, from living by one’s fleshly desires to following the way of holiness. Return (epistrepsate) describes a change of direction that should happen with repentance. Isaiah 53:6 may have been in Peter’s mind as he reflected on the suffering of Jesus. Jesus went to the cross because people have turned away from God and followed the way of sin and self. As we turn from sin, we need a new direction, and that new direction is to look to our Creator, who is also our Redeemer.
Peter gives three outcomes of repenting and turning back to God. The first is expressed in the form of an articular infinitive of purpose: in order that your sins may be wiped away. The prophet Isaiah wrote about this in Isaiah 1:18. The passive voice of the infinitive (exaleiphthēnai) assumes God is the one who takes away the sin. This is another way of saying that God will forgive and not count our sin against us, as Psalm 103:12 states.
A second outcome will be times of refreshing. The construction used here is a subjunctive verb (elthōsin) as part of a result clause (hopōs av). Refreshing (anapsuxeōs) is a special word occuring only here in the New Testament. It describes how something is cooled off with a gentle breeze. A soft, cool wind can bring fresh air and a cool feeling on a hot day. It is the sense of peace (shalom) that God provides to those who have been forgiven. The source of this relief is the presence of the Lord. Some people fear or dred being in the presence of God. The deep reason for this is that they carry guilt. Once the guilt is removed, we can experience God’s love and grace. Being with God is the greatest experience of our existence.
The third result is to experience the Lord Jesus Christ. This idea is expressed with a parallel subjunctive verb used as a result (aposteilē). God’s purposes are all summed up in his sending of his Son for humanity. He came to Jerusalem, yet the people rejected him. But that sending was God’s plan of redemption. The crowd could no longer see Jesus because he ascended into heaven (verse 21) until God finished his whole plan. That meant that the people to whom Peter was speaking needed to believe what he was saying. They had several proofs that what he was saying was the truth: the healed man, Scripture and the fulfilment of its prophecy, and the eyewitness account of the apostles. Another element was internal, and that was the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
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